NBA Playoff Prediction: Round 1

Ok so time for the NBA Playoffs 2010!

I will be giving my round by round predictions

Here it my prediction for how things are going to pan out in the first round.



Western Conference Round 1

1 Lakers

8 Thunder

Prediction: I love Durant, Westbrook, and Green, but the Lakers are too tall and have too much talent. The Thunder have a bright future, but its the Kobe and the Lakers' time now. Lakers in 5

2 Mavericks

7 Spurs

Prediction: The Spurs are good, but too old. Caron Butler has brought a new energy and fire to the Mavs and I think theyll make a strong push. Kidd and Dirk look hungry and theyll be tough to beat. Mavericks in 6.

3 Suns

4 Trailblazers

Prediction: I love the Trailblazers. I think even without Oden, Prizbella, and Brandon Roy, they could do alot. I like some of the players on the Suns, like Nash, Stoudimire, and Jason Richardson. Im not a big fan of Barbosa or Robin Lopez. I just think the Suns got hot at the end of the season and theyll go back to normal soon. Unless the Suns stay at Super Sayian, I think the Trailblazers win in 6.

4 Nuggets

5 Jazz

Prediction: Ok I dont like the Nuggets. I think Carmelo and Billups are overrated. The only guy I like is Ty Lawson. I think that the Jazz have alot of firepower and Deron WIlliams runs that team very well, along with the coaching from Jerry Sloan, who has like 100 years of playoff experience. Jazz in 5.



Eastern Conference Round 1

1 Cavaliers

8 Bulls

Prediction:The Cavs are too strong. Lebron is a monster and with Shaq coming back, and Jamison getting comfortable. Mo Williams, Delante West, Big Z, all those guys. I am a huge fan of what the Bulls are doing. I like Derrick Rose, I think hes a star (But John Wall is a better PG), and being a USC guy I like Taj Gibson. I like Noah, Deng, but the Cavs are too much. Cavs in 4.

2 Magic

7 Bobcats

Prediction: The Bobcats have Larry Brown and the power of Michael Jordan, but Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson, and co cant handle the Magic. Dwight Howard is a freak of nature with shoulders to match. Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, and so many other guys. I think that the Magic are going to the Eastern Conference Finals, so they can't lost here. Good work getting this far Bobcats, but Magic in 4.

3 Hawks

6 Bucks

Prediction: The Hawks are too athletic. Andrew Bogut was big for the Bucks this year, and his injury really hurts the team. Sure Brandon Jennings and John Salmons are there, but with Al Horford down low, and Josh Smith flying around, I dont think the Bucks have a chance. Hawks in 4.

4 Celtics

5 Heat

Prediction: I love the Heat. Dwayne Wade is my favorite player. I liked Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers since they were in college, and I still like what their doing. I think Jermane ONeal still has some stuff in the tank. I really want the Heat to pull this out, but I think the Celtics are gonna take this one. Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and now Rondo. And add Rasheed "Overreact" Wallace. I think the Celtics take it in 6.

Pokemon Black and White Announced

BLACK & WHITE!!!

Ok so in February it was announced that Game Freak in development of the 5th generation Pokemon game. The statement stated that the game will completely change the mold and will be different from all other games. Pictures of Zorua and Zoroark were then released as the first known 5th gen Pokemon.

I was impatiently waiting for more information. When finally in April, CoroCoro finally had released screen shots of the game, along with the titles. Pokemon Black and White will be released in Japan sometime in 2010 for the DS, not the 3DS as many people assumed it would.

The screens look awesome. They show a huge improvement graphically and it looks as if the camera angle has been moved down; thus taking the game from a top view to a leveled view, so that buildings with actually show height and depth. This game is so far looking alot different then other games, as promised. Even the battle screen is showing a big improvement. From the screens, we can also see that the text box is now a speech balloon, coming out from the mouth of the character, making following dialog a little easier.

These games will be compatible with the current 4th gen games. It was almost confirmed that traded the shiny legendary Pokemon, given any with the release of the 13th movie, will trigger certain events in the game. What is triggers has yet to be seen.

I am extremely excited for the announcement and I will be keeping up on all the latest news and updates. I can't wait to see the new 5th Pokemon as well as any new game mechanics that are put in.

Key Club Cali-Nev-Ha District Convention 2010

Key Club Cali Nev Ha District Convention is always something that I look forward to every year and this year didn't disappoint. We were back in Sacramento this time around, which meant an 8 hour bus ride. The bus ride wasnt bad. And before you know it we were there.

We stayed at the Residence Inn, which was about 2 blocks away from the convention center. This year our room was a suite. We had 2 bed rooms, 2 bathrooms, connected by a living room area and a kitchen. We had 10 guys in our room. It was crazy at times, but fun overall. Reseda had 22 members total, 13 boys and 9 girls.

The Key Club spirit never fails to amaze me. The energy was flowing throughout the convention halls, and you could hear the cheers and feel the vibrations in the floor. On the way to workshops and getting into general sessions especially, there was alot of pushing and shoving as well as alot of spirit and cheers. Its a strange mix of good and bad, but it makes for a unique high energy environment.

Every year we have a motivational speaker, and this year that man was Keith Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins was definitely the most memorable and fun speaker that I've seen at DCON. He made some really funny jokes, played games like Simon says, and rhythm based activities. It was just alot of fun listening to him talk and interact with the crowd. The biggest thing that I took from his workshop and speech was the idea of Go Human. Go Human is like Go Green, but instead of fixing the world, its the idea that we have to fix the human race first. Go Human promotes give what you need, meaning that if you need friendship, give friendship; if you need respect, give respect; it will all come back to you. This will make our world a better place for everyone. I really agreed with and bought into the idea of Go Human.

I put in alot of time and effort into Key Club during my high school career and I think that this was a great way to end it. Key Club has given me so much, everything from experience to friends to helping me grow as a leader and person. I really hope to continue my involvement in the Kiwanis family, as well as promote Key Club to help other people gain what I did, if not more, from Key Club. Thank you Key Club and the Kiwanis Family.

APYLP 2010

So a few months ago I applied for the APYLP (Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Project). APYLP selected 50 seniors and juniors from high schools throughout California selected to participate in a unique leadership conference that will educate and nurture a new generation of aspiring political and community leaders and advocates from our Asian Pacific Islander American communities. Students will hear from dynamic speakers, actively participate in a Mock Legislature at the State Capitol and engage in conference workshops.

I was selected for the conference and I was very excited. Chris Ratana and I were the only 2 people chosen from Reseda High. We left on the plane leaving out of Burbank Airport. When we first arrived in Sacramento, it was awkward at first with everyone, but we quickly became close and comfortable. We had great advisers, they were fun and helpful and made things run very smoothly. The trip would have been great with just the people we met, but all of the workshops, activities, and the capitol building was what made it really special.

We played games that somehow connected to life lessons, and had workshops with leaders in the Asian Pacific Community. We were allowed to have a scavenger hunt in the capitol building, which btw our group won! We were allowed in the Assembly room, and we had discussions and debates in the Committee rooms, as well as on the actual Senate floor.

I met so many amazing people and had a once in a lifetime experience. I am so happy that I was able to participate in the 20th anniversary of this conference and I hope that I will be able to help the program somehow in the future.

WARNING!! Before I tell this story...I am not being racist in anyway, its just the story. lol

Ok so my room was upstairs and the balcony was facing the street. The hotel only had 2 floors. There were 3 APYLP boys' rooms in a row (2 guys per room), my room being one of them. So it was the last night we were there. Its about 1am and I just went to go lay down in bed, then I start hearing these loud sounds coming from outside. My roommate and I looked out the window and a bus had dropped off about 50-60 black people in front of this club across the street. Then more black people came out of the club and the 2 groups started fighting and eventually turned into like a street brawl. So all of us went out on the balcony to watch(6 asian kids lol). 4 police cars came and everyone dispersed in all directions and each car gave chase in each direction of the intersection. Then about 10 minutes later a firetruck and an ambulance came and parked down the street where one of the cop cars was. As we tried to extend and look at what was going on down the street, another bus came and dropped of my black people on the other side of the club. 2 black girls were arguing, coming off of the bus, and proceeded to yell at each other while walking down the street. I went inside to check my netbook to see if there was any news on what was happening, when my roommate ran back into the room and closed the balcony door, and I heard the doors of the other rooms as well. I asked what happened and he didn't know, so we waited a minute and went back outside. The guy in the next room then told me that a guy was out waving around a gun. We continued watching, and the 2 girls were still yelling and screaming. Then they got into a fist fight (punching, kicking, grabbing/ripping clothes and hair, etc). They didnt just fight on the street....they fought in the middle of the 4-way intersection! Other people from the bus were trying to pull them away from each other, but then everyone started fighting again. 2 more police cars came and officers sprayed tear gas on them, and that was the end of it. Everything calmed down at 3am. The weirdest part of the whole thing was that while all this was going on, traffic was still flowing as normal. Like cars just drove around the fighting and cop cars. They didn't even stop for the firetruck or the ambulance.

HOSA SLC 2010

It came time again for HOSA!! Wed been studying all year and it was time to show what we got. HOSA State Leadership Conference 2010 was in Ontario, CA...not Canada lol. Trust me...alot of people have asked me if it was in Canada.

Anyway, we got there at about 11am on Thursday March 11. The hotel didnt have our rooms ready, so we packed all 22 of us into 1 room. Christy, Josh, and me had the Kaiser Knowledge Exam at 1, so we changed and went, took the exam and everything was good. Then everyone had events so we all left. The rooms were ready when we cam back and it was all good.

Now in our rooms we had FOOD. Not just food....FOOD!!! Sure we had the usually snacks, chips, cup noodle, etc. Josh had his rice cooker, I had the water heater. But this year, Jiwon(1st time HOSA) brought uncooked Korean BBQ. Juile had an electric stove. So we stuck the stove halfway out the window and started cooking the meat. We had foil to catch the grease, and I was fanning the smoke and steam out the window so the room didnt smell and the fire alarm didnt go off. After 2 hours, all the meat was cooked, We ate, the room smelled like Korean BBQ for the rest of the trip.

I also brought my Nerf guns, which was fun. Kyle and I took the guns and kept barging into peoples rooms and attacking everyone and stuff. That was fun.

The biggest thing that we got into...Charades. It started out as something to fill 20 minutes, but it turned into a serious competition. First we started with basic charades. 2 teams, each team gives the other team a clue. Really basic. I left to take an exam and came back and it had transformed into a new type of charades haha. The new game was 3 people line up in a row facing each others back, the last person just looks at a wall or whatever. The clue is shown to the first person, the first person taps the shoulder of the 2nd person and the 2nd person turns around. The 1st person tries to charade the clue to the 2nd person, when the 2nd person gets it, the 2nd person taps the 3rd person then the 2nd person charades the clue to the 3rd person. The first team to get the 3rd person to correctly guess the clue is the winner. That was alot of fun, then we got back into regular charades but then it was really serious. Now you had a 1 minute time limit. If it was under 1 minute then the team gets 1 point, if its under 30 seconds then they get 2 points. If you dont know the clue or feel you cant do it, then you can pass it to a teammate, but the original person cannot help guess. We started getting really hard clues, and planning out certain clues to give to certain people, it just got really competitive.

In the actual HOSA competition, Reseda did very well. We got several medals and top 10 finishes. I got 2 top 10s. The trip was alot of fun. There was alot of drama on the trip that Im not going to get into now haha. But overall it was a great trip.